Colton Dixon: The full Link interview

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On a warm, August afternoon in New York City, "American Idol" season 11 finalist Colton Dixon is being shuffled from place to place to promote his new record, the Christian rock album "Anchor."

Given that Dixon's debut album, "A Messenger," set a first-week sales record for a Christian artist last year, it wouldn't be surprising if the pressure to match those figures would cause concern for the 22-year-old performer.

Instead, Dixon is cool and calm as he chats over the phone. He's pleased to be in one of his favorite cities and wants to hear what everybody thinks about the material on the new album.

Here's a look at the full Link interview with Colton Dixon.

QUESTION: Is it nerve-wracking as the weeks and then days get closer and closer to release day?

ANSWER: This is only my second go-round, so I can't speak from a ton of experience. It's for sure nerve-wracking to a certain degree. You're nervous is people are going to like the music that you spent so much time in creating. I don't have kids, but I've heard it said that each song you write is like a child of yours. To cut it down from however many songs you write for a record to ten or eleven songs is hard enough. Then whenever you hear people's thoughts, whether it's criticism or love, it's always a weird balance. So far, people are loving it. It's so cool to see their favorite tracks. It's really been cool to watch.

Q: Obviously, a lot of work goes into the creation of an album, but isn't it a bit of a whirlwind in those days right before and after it comes out?

A: Some say obligations, but I think of it as opportunities, honest. It's cool that people are willing to talk to me about promoting the record. We're in New York City right now, and hitting a couple of different markets. It's been cool that people seem to be as excited as I am about putting out a new record. That's just made it a lot of fun, and you get to go places that you don't get to go very often. I love New York City, so it's been a lot of fun.

Q: Your debut record, "A Messenger," set a record for first week sales by a new solo Christian act. Do you feel any pressure to match that success?

A: In a way, this is really kind of going to show us what is realistic. With the first record, I was coming off American Idol. There was a lot more attention, and a lot more momentum, coming off a show like that, which is understandable. We had an amazing street week last year with "A Messenger." Not discounting this record at all, as I still think it's going to be great, but we're not sure what it's going to do. We can't be disappointed if it doesn't match the first record's sales the first week just because we had that momentum coming off a show where 20 million people are tuning in a week. I think we're going to have more understanding of what's more realistic on street week this go-round than the first go-round.

Q: How long before you hit the studio do you begin to plan what you want to do on a new album?

A: It starts in the writing phases. I had one idea for what I kind of wanted to do with the record. I wanted to shift things as soon as I wrote a song called "Anchor." It made so much more sense for where I was at spiritually and in my career. It really does start in that writing phase. You do demos with different songwriters and producers, and some of those demos wind up being the foundation for the actual song. You'll just finish up the demo and it will be a done deal. When you write, you get a good idea on what songs you're going to use and what songs you're not. What songs fit versus which do not. Then you kind of have a meeting where you say, "I'm feeling for sure maybe these four or five songs that we're going to do," and we get those out pretty early. There were a handful of songs that we had recorded at the end of August (2013), and we kind of went from there. We're still writing, and doing that thing, but at least we have a good foundation of songs that we know are going to be favorites. It's a slow process, but it's just about writing as much good music as you can, and making sure you say everything you want to say.

Q: Was there anything that you wanted to do that was different than on the debut album?

A: Of course. The first record was so chaotic and so fast-paced. I remember writing as soon as I was eliminated (from "American Idol"). Then I had to jump back into the finale, and then I jumped onto the Idol tour. I was writing, and meeting with radio, and doing all of that (negotiating) with Sparrow (Records) in the middle of that. As soon as I was done with the "American Idol" tour it was time to go into the studio because we were wanting a January release before the next season of Idol got started. It was very, very fast-paced.

With this record, I wanted to spend more time and give more attention to detail. There were a few things I might have done a little differently on the first record after hearing it as long and so much now. We were able to just live with the songs much longer on the second record. We were able to revisit some of the songs that were recorded last year with more of a tuned ear, and could say, "Hey, why don't we tweak this a little, or add this part here?" We were able to spend a little more attention to detail on this record.

Q: Having already released an album, did you feel more comfortable in the studio this time around?

A: I think just gaining the experience with the first record helped with the comfortability. Both sets of producers on this record also worked on the first one, and I was definitely more comfortable with them. It made it a lot easier in the studio. I was able to communicate better with them, and they knew me a lot better than on the first record. They knew kind of what I wanted. As far as releasing this record and whether I'm satisfied, I'm 1,000 percent satisfied, and it's something that I'm beyond proud of. Even more so than the first record, which I didn't think was possible. I really believe in these songs.

Q: What is the significance to titling the album "Anchor?"

A: When I released "A Messenger" and started touring, I realized how easy it was to get caught up in schedules, and how easy it was to get distracted on the road. In turn, it made me realize how important it was to be focused, and for me my faith is a big part of what I do. I was thinking of the word daily. No matter what you do, if you're on a stage constantly speaking to people, you need to make sure that you have something to say. You need to make sure you're fed in whatever profession you're doing, and for me it's spiritually-fed. I realized on stage I'm basically spiritually feeding all of these people in the audience, and making sure they're encouraged to connect with God. I couldn't count those moments as my personal spiritual time because I'm going to walk offstage drained. That realization was key to me, and then at the same time I felt I was drifting a bit. I needed the anchor. It sounds cheesy, but that's really what stemmed the idea behind the song, and that turned into something larger with the theme-based record. It's been cool to kind of go off on tangents here and there, but kind of keep that similar theme.

Q: It's interesting that all of this has happened due to an "American Idol" audition for your sister. Did you really have no plans to audition that day?

A: I didn't. I didn't think "Idol" was my platform to begin with. I kind of went (the previous year) because my sister Schyler talked me into it in the first place. I was definitely done with it after not making it all the way (to the show) on the first season that I tried out (2011). I went to support her, and kind of got drug back into the whole thing.

Q: It was considered a shocker when you were voted out in seventh place. Were you also surprised, or did you have a premonition this may happen?

A: It's funny. I wasn't in the bottom three prior to that, so it came as a little bit of a shock. I remember waking up that morning and saying to Phillip Phillips, "Dude, I feel weird about tonight." He looked at me and said, "Bro, really? Shut up. You're fine." It was kind of crazy. After I was eliminated, all of the Idols came over and we had a big group hug moment. Afterwards, I just kind of smiled. It's funny how all of that stuff works. It happens sometimes.

Q: In some respects, given the machinery that works behind the scenes with "American Idol" winners, would you have had the freedom to do what you're now doing?

A: That's a great question. I know the winner signs with Interscope Records, and by dealing with (President) Jimmy Iovine just a little bit, they would have tried to water me down some. Honestly,, whether it's the Christian music industry or the mainstream music industry, I would be doing the same thing. Just because it's labelled Christian doesn't mean it would make me any different. It was just the way the cookie crumbled. Faith is a big part of what I do, even with the mainstream. You have bands like Switchfoot, The Fray, and Lifehouse, plus so many singers that are Christian that are out there with the same mission as Christian artists.

Q: The big difference is that you still got your face in front of 20 million people, but were able to go with the label that felt comfortable for you.

A: It made it easier to do what I wanted to do. If I had won, it would have been harder to be as open in areas like my faith. I still would have done it, but it probably would have caused a little backlash.